Star Stampers Lockdown Challenge Week 5

Diane Pawley challenged us to make a Split Panel Recessed Card this week. To be honest I've never ever seen one before & by the number of videos I found on You Tube they were trendy a few years ago but they're highly effective and very easy especially if you're like me & followed this video by Stamp with Joy as you just cut the top layer & then make wee strips of a contrast colour, attach & trim with your scissors, no measurements required. Rather than stamping an image, I've used a piece of Peaceful Poppies DSP (#151324) that is the same size as the card front ie 14.8 cm x 10.5 cm and attached to the thick Whisper White base. I chose to work with poppies as it was Anzac day in New Zealand yesterday & it was a strange one being locked down in our bubbles so I decided to share one of My Food Bag meals which was a hearty steak, chips & coleslaw with 2 elderly neighbours that are locked down all by themselves  and I wanted to pop in some homemade poppies (KReated with Poppy Moments dies #151594) with their bag of food. I liked this colour combo of Real Red base & the outer edge Poppy Parade. I didn't own any Garden Green card stock so used scraps of Wild Wasabi and Pear Pizzazz. The sequins were just some in my stash and aren't SU! The lovely word is from Peaceful Moments (#151595) which is such a versatile saying set and has been stamped with Garden Green ink as I did own that ;)

 I also snapped a few things that took my eye around my house as it was truly was a fabulous Autumn day.

As the saying goes on Anzac Day "Lest We Forget" and we truly won't forget the Anzac Day of 2020.

✿ Karen ✿

Retirement List is Up

This is for both the Annual Catalogue 2019-2010 and also for the current mini catalogue Jan-June 2020. There are often bargains to be found but as always its only while stocks last or until 1150pm on June 2nd. Click on the pictures to see what is retiring.

This means our new Annual catalogue will be going live on June 3rd 2020 :)

If you'd like to download the PDFs for both catalogue I think these links will work Annual Catalogue PDF and Mini Catalogue PDF

✿ Karen ✿

Colouring using alcohol markers

Hi all if you've been following my blog for awhile you'll know I fell in love with colouring using Copics markers. I certainly am no master of my Copic colouring as like all things you need to practice but it certainly makes colouring really easy.

Well one of the things I LOVE, LOVE about Stampin' Up! is that everything co-ordinates & matches & I really LOVE that. So coming back it's hard that they have alcohol markers now which truly do co-ordinate with their colours VS me and my 230+ Copic markers I own. Copics are not cheap and for myself I have invested a lot of money in building up my stash slowly over the years. So I have been colouring up my SU! images with my Copics using Memento ink (which is alcohol proof) and using thick Whisper White (or Very Vanilla) card stock.

I started yesterday having a really good play with the Ornate Garden bundle which has 2 stamp sets, 2 dies, gilded gems, ribbon & the most beautiful DSP in the world, like all cards you have an idea in your head and it evolves as you start putting the card together. I'll reveal the card later in the week as I want to post them to people, so I'll wait a few days after posting to reveal it.

Anyhow I was truly thankful to find this fab blog Joyful Creations with Kim when I returned to SU! as she has charts that you can download & make your colour swatch showing close matches of Copics to SU! colours.

It's been a great resource to me but as you can see I have gaps (surprisingly quite a lot). So then I pull out my trusty Hex Chart I purchased from Sandy Allnock & try & work out what is closest to the missing colour Kim has suggested. I actually think Sandy's hex chart is an essential for anyone that wants to get into Copic colouring.

So to cut a long story short I wanted to colour in the daisies from the Ornate Style stamp set and I am also working with the matching DSP whose colours include Mint Macaroon, Petal Pink, a new in-colour coming called Beehive (cheery yellow) and Early Espresso.

So these are the colours I chose with the help of Kim & Sandy's charts. Interesting I coloured using Early Espresso ink (which is not alcohol proof) with no bleeding of the ink color on thin Very Vanilla card stock. To prevent too much alcohol movement of colour I only did a very light colouring once (normally I go over the coloring at least twice to build up colour & the shading) but I didn't want to risk it all becoming a big mess & I'm happy that my daisies look pretty.

Now my next dilemma is I "earned" the Rococo Rose stampin' blend markers in Sale-a-bration for free & the "real deal" looks prettier than the suggestion from Kim. I think I can hear my bank account groaning! I also saw a great tip that if you have similar Stampin' Blends you wrap different Washi tapes around each set, so this set has a pineapple washi tape wrapped around it & if I buy another pinkish set they'll get another Washi tape wrapped around them.

It's a grey gloomy day in Auckland so its a WIP day (working in pajama day). Hope you're all keeping safe, well & warm wherever you are.

✿ Karen ✿

Rhonda's Easy Peasy Gift Card

Happy weekend all I'm enjoying being stuck at home & this week I had my first make a card via Zoom meeting. My upline Rhonda Fawcett and my Stampin' Up! team have been inspirational & challenging during lockdown & we're all learning new skills how to communicate & do things virtually.

I actually lost the transmission half way through the lesson as my laptop decided to do a Windows update which was kind of hilarious but when you look at the tutorial I created with Rhonda's instructions afterwards you will see I scored my card stock in the opposite direction but it still worked out a OK. So a huge success for our Virtual Make-a-Card. We'd been given the instructions for cutting before hand & some of the scoring but some we did together virtually.

How to KReate your own gift card :

1. Main colour base 27 cm x 9 cm and 20 cm x 3.2 cm strip also in main colour.

• Score largest piece at 9 cm and 18 cm.
• Score strip at 6 cm and 15.5 cm.

2. Your choice of DSP to match card. A smaller pattern is better and it MUST be multi directional. Cut to 8.5 cm square.

3. Punch out a 2-¼" punched circle in 2nd colour to coordinate with first colour and DSP. If you don't have this circle punch, use a die or cut out a 2-¼" square.

4. White card 8.5 cm square plus a piece of scrap white card big enough for you to stamp an image and fussy cut out to adhere to the centre of your circle.

5. Choose a stamp set to use with any words for inside of card and an image to go in circle as mentioned above.

6. Score the main card base (27 cm x 9 cm piece) as below:

Supply list (Stampin' Up!)
Stamps: Free As a Bird Stamp set (#149468)
Paper :  Bird Ballad DSP (#149592), Delight, Old Olive & Whisper White.
Dies: Layering Circles (#141705) and Stitched Shapes (#145372)

The skinnier strip was the belly band & it's closure is hidden by the image on the front. I coloured my wee bird up with my Copics but I chose colours that were a close match to Old Olive (YG95 and as I didn't have a lighter colour I used 2 Polychromo pencils for a bit of shading Earth Green and Cold Grey), Daffodil Delight (Y35/Y32) & Crumb Cake (E41/E43) with B00 & B000 creating the sky.

And because it was very squally outside I used my rosemary to anchor the card down so you can see the directions I chose to score & lay the DSP on the card, which as it turned out was the opposite of Rhonda's but it worked fine in this orientation too. I blame the Windows update for taking me offline as she was demonstrating how to do this step. The wee template diagram I have KReated for you & wasn't available  to me when I started our online class.

It was fun to see how everyone's cards looked like as we'd only been given the instructions for steps 1-5 above. So we'd all chosen different colours & DSPs & stamps to work with BUT they all looked fab!!

✿ Karen ✿

Star Stampers Week 4 Lockdown Challenge

We're heading into week 4 in New Zealand of lock down & this week I got to set the Challenge for the Star Stampers (my Stampin' Up! team I belong too).

I chose that the challenge this week was all about "STARS" as we are after all the Star Stampers.

Even though I own a SU! star stamp-set I chose to work with an old mask (stencil) that I'd bought a few years ago which came as well as the falling stars with a heart mask.

This was my first idea for a card.

And I still really like the idea but I used a pot of Nuvo Gold Glimmer paste for the stars and I'm a 100% positive I've never opened the jar but it was horrible to work with. I think it had dried out too much in it's "sealed pot", it also wouldn't stick & it was impossible to remove the glitter from the mask/stencil but they still do what they're supposed to do anyhow even if they're dirty looking or in this case all sparkly.

To make the card I made a mask by using a circle die on some masking paper. I then added my mask to my piece of shimmery white card stock (#121717), this card stock works really well for blending but you can also use whisper white etc. The colours I used for my blend were Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green, Mango Melody & Terracotta Tile. I've also used Picket Fences Life Changing Brushes to do my blending.

I love the saying & the cute wee doggy from Bella & Friends (retired). Anyhow I love this technique with a small cute image or a flower that you can cut out & pop up on dimensionals & the less we say about the "stars" the better.

So as I wasn't scoring a gold star for my first effort I thought I'd try another idea with my masking paper to make a strip on a card.

This time I used embossing paste (again one in my stash that I'd owned for a few years from Prima) to do an emboss resist technique and you can see the colours I used to blend. In hindsight I should have attached the masking paper on a grid mat to line it all perfectly before blending on my craft mat as 'sob' they weren't really equal straight lines, so I had to cut out a strip with my paper trimmer to make this card, with the saying from Beautiful You (#151412) which is so appropriate at this point in time. The background mat colour is Mango Melody. I've also flicked water at the strip & blotted dry to add a few more homemade stars.

Again if you look some of the stars are a bit missing so I was feeling rather grumpy at this stage & my fingers were really Night of Navy Blue :) So thought one more try so I went back to my practice blend & put the mask on top & removed colour with a damp baby wipe & then flicked some water drops on top too.

So again I cut out the strip & this time added to a thick whisper white card base.

Well I think all 3 star cards are pretty & I'm giving myself a bronze star for the finish but a gold star for having fun & getting my fingers inky.

I'm also giving myself a gold star for inspiring Diane Pawley to get out her old mask & make this adorable card for the challenge using the hostess set New Wonders (#149426). Her stars are fabulous!!

✿ Karen ✿

Clearance Rack Update

Stampin' Up! have released lots of new items to the Clearance Rack (some of them are 60% off) so do go check it out & grab a bargain, heads up this years retirement list comes out April 23rd & as always it'll be first in, first gets. Click HERE to see the clearance rack.


✿ Karen ✿

Happy mail

This is the fabulous gatefold card my upline Rhonda Fawcett sent me for my birthday. I normally only add on the top panel to my gatefold cards and I really like how she has the sentiment also matted up adding a bit more wow underneath.

I blogged a week or so ago how to make a gatefold card HERE if you'd like to have a go yourself  OR wait for it Rhonda will send you the actual kit to make this card yourself, she's done all the cutting etc but you have to provide your own stamped images or cut out the birds from the designer paper but I can visualize many images working with these colours & DSP. The cost of the kit, with instructions & postage in NZ is only $6  - phenomenal value. You can contact Rhonda HERE. The stamp set she has used is Free As A Bird (#149468).

She also included with my card a pretty pack of Champagne Rhinestones which I've used quite a bit which was pretty phenomenal too as they are pretty phenomenal.

And wait there's more what a cool wee technique this is - she's dry embosssed the envelope closure with the Country Floral dynamic textured impressions embossing folder (#149698) and it looked so pretty I was excited before I even opened the envelope.

So many thanks Rhonda it truly was happy mail for me to receive.

✿ Karen ✿

Star Stamper's Lockdown week 3 challenge card

Firstly hope everyone is enjoying our enforced staycation as we head into the Easter weekend, its a bit wet & squally in New Zealand so will be nice to snuggle up with the cats on the couch weather anyhow.

My stampin' family the Star Stampers have been doing a weekly challenge whilst we're in lockdown, this week's one was a big challenge and surprisingly I'm really happy how it turned out.

Shona Edmonds set us the challenge "Opposites Attract"

There were 4 combos to choose from and you can only add white or vanilla card stock and black ink.

• Bermuda Bay and Poppy Parade. 
• Granny Apple Green and Melon Mambo.
• Pacific Point and Grapefruit Grove.
• Blackberry Bliss and Pineapple Punch.

And if you didn’t have the card stock colours pick something close.

To be honest I hated all the combos. Shona though had made 4 cards with all the combos & they all looked pretty fab so I thought I can do this. I always gravitate towards green so challenged myself to try something new so I chose Blackberry Bliss and Daffodil Delight (as I didn't own Pineapple Punch).

I used the fabulous Butterfly Beauty thinlit dies (#148536) and the sentiment comes from Peaceful Moments (#151595). I had planned to put the sentiment up on a flag but could see it would hide the beautiful butterfly so cut it out and tucked it under, in hindsight I wish I had used the Subtle embossing folder on the white card stock. I used my alcohol markers to colour up the rhinestones as you can never have too much bling.

Cutting dimensions 
Blackberry Bliss 14.8 x 21 cm (scored at 10.5 cm)
Daffodil Delight 13.8 x 9.5 cm
Whisper White 13.5 x 9 cm

Well it's my turn to set next weeks challenge so will now have to put on my thinking cap.

Once again happy Easter all, stay safe, stay warm, stay home & hopefully the Easter bunny can find your place (must admit chocolate eggs was one of the things I stocked up on straight away pre-lockdown).

Inky hugs,
✿ Karen ✿

Lockdown week 2 Star Stamper Challenge

Wow now that's a mouthful. When you join up Stampin' Up! you get a wee virtual family. Now is a perfect example when it's really nice to have a virtual family that are crafty related. My bubble partner is slowly demolishing the garden and he loves seeing what I create and will be my colour consultant but that's as far as he goes so it's really good to have a Stampin' family who are spread throughout NZ The "Star Stampers". Last week Bev Poultney challenged us to try the scrappy strip technique & I loved it. Week 2 & it's Rhonda Fawcett's turn she has challenged us to do a challenge from her blog in January, you can see what she created HERE back then.

I have to be honest I had so many ideas for this one. Rhonda is right using a sketch really helps with the card design. I settled on using one of my favourite SU! colours (the retired Lemon Lime Twist) as we all need a bit of cheer with the new absolutely stunning Ornate Borders dies which are coming in the new annual catalogue which kicks off in June but we can pre-order NOW. I'm not a fussy card maker but wow these dies, in fact the whole bundle made my heart go boom in a good way. Being a demonstrator I was able to pre-purchase my bundle last month when Sale-a-bration was active & earn free products on top so it seemed appropriate to use the free product (the Thoughtful Blooms stamp set and matching punch, both of which I earned for free in SAB and is no longer available).

Supply List (all SU!):
Stamps:Thoughtful Blooms
Ink: Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody, Lemon-Lime Twist (retired), Gorgeous Grape, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Whisper White, Highland Heather, Lemon Lime Twist, Gingham Gala DSP
Other: Small Bloom Punch, Ornate Borders dies, Layering Circles framelits, dimensionals

If you'd like to play along with the Star Stampers & don't have a blog you are welcome to e-mail your KReation & I can blog it for you. If you have blogged it just comment below.

If you'd like to know more about the fabulous Ornate Garden Suite pre-order check out my Specials tab above.

Thanks for stopping by, the weather forecast in NZ is shocking for Easter so it maybe a very good time to be lock-downed and playing with our craft supplies. Hopefully you were clever like me & stocked up on Easter eggs too.

✿ Karen ✿

Basic cutting metric card stock 101

Hi all we're heading into week 2 of the 4 week lock-down in New Zealand & one of the things I should have done before lock-down was get some crafting supplies to my niece who is stuck at home with 5 children but whilst I've been tidying my craft room up lately I have made up 2 huge boxes of supplies for them which includes a trimmer. Now I know from when I used to run home classes many don't actually know how to cut out the card stock so here's my 101 & hopefully easy to follow guide. I apologise in advance for the photo quality as it's a rather gloomy day in NZ today.

The first thing to note is that many paper trimmers have a locking mechanism on the top beside the cutting grove. The latest model from SU! doesn't but the older model does and many Fiskars trimmers do as well. Move to the left to unlock if you can't lift up the clear plastic guide to insert your paper under.

The other cool thing about the SU! trimmers they have a cutting blade (dark grey) and a scoring blade (light grey).

Also most trimmers have an extendable arm so you can cut out 12 x 12" card stock (the newest trimmer from SU! actually extends out 17"). You don't need to pull this out if you're working with our standard A4 cardstock.

So the first thing you need to decide is the orientation of your card before you cut a piece of A4 card stock in half.

The card on the left I always call a mountain card, the card on the right is the traditional way we buy cards. As you can see they are actually identical cards its just the way they open that is different. I normally make "mountain cards" when I want to wrap ribbon around the card.

So to make the mountain card you insert the card stock into the trimmer and cut down the middle at 10.5 cm and then score at 14.85 cm.

To cut the traditional card turn the card stock and cut in half at 14.85cm (or you can cut both pieces at 14.8cm) & score at 10.5cm.

Now the fun bit starts in essence BOTH cards are the same with a card face of 14.8 (or 14.85) cm x 10.5 cm.

I have this piece of card on all my cutters just sellotaped down showing me the mat sizes. We decrease incrementally 0.5 cm on both sides.

I have cut out multiple mats & just layered them for the purpose of this 101 guide, I haven't glued them down but you should get the idea of the possibilities.

Below we have pink mat 14.3 x 10 cm, white mat is 13.8 x 9.5 cm.

Below I have made the pink mat 1 cm smaller to start ie 13.8 x 9.5 cm and white mat 13.3 x 9 cm.

This has the green mat the same as the first option 14.3 x 10 cm, pink 13.8 x 9.5 cm, white 13.3 x 9 cm.

This is the same as above but no pink mat.

The colours used are So Saffron, Blushing Bride, Granny Apple Green and Whisper White.

I hope this makes sense, any questions just leave me a comment below. So stay safe all & my dear nieces if you do read this stay safe & no cutting yourself with any of the tools I'm gifting to you!!
✿ Karen ✿

Scrappy Strip Technique

My Stampin' Up! team (the Star Stampers) are going to do a different technique every week whilst we're all in lockdown. The first challenge was to try Bruno Bertucci's scrappy strip technique, it really requires very little apart from lots of badly cut strips of card stock. You can check out the video here (the technique starts at 20 mins approximately).

This is what it looks like when adhering to the card mat (LHS is all trimmed, RHS all attached & waiting to chop down to a mat).

I'm really liking the Silicon Craft mat it's perfect to stop the glue getting all over your work surface.

Looking at Bruno's card he used much thinner strips than I did, the colours I used were Cherry Cobbler, Petal Pink, Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla and Basic Black.

 My team have all jazzed their cards up with embellishments so I used the lovely cherry blossom stamp from Forever Blossoms (#151457) &diecut it out with the matching die-set (Cherry Blossoms #151456) & I've colored up with my Copics (R11, E95, G20, YG11, Y35 and W1). A few Champagne Rhinestones for a bit of bling. I have stamped the image with Memento Desert Sand ink for a more no-line colouring look. The sentiment is from the Beautiful You stamp set (#143637) and everything is popped up with some dimensionals.

This was such a fun & easy technique so I challenge you all to have a go too, it certainly brightened up my day. Thanks Bruno for the great technique & Bev Pountney for challenging us all.

✿ Karen ✿